The market is changing

 A very drastic title, just to grab your attention. I noticed lately that a lot of media outlets love to grab people’s attention by using a good title. Often, it’s not accurate and misleading but the sound bite is already out there and that’s what influences the masses. Not many people bother to read the whole article but base their opinions on these cleverly manipulated opinions. I suspect, that’s how critical thinking was abolished.

I would like to share some facts about the market and will try to avoid sharing my opinions, but before I do that, I wanted to give a round of applause to all the people that showed up to the Public Meeting at the community center last week. In case you missed the meeting, a lot of people showed up and we had a lot of great speakers. One thing I took away from this meeting was that people still care about this community. I have gotten used to seeing people’s eyes glazing over when you mention anything about politics. To my pleasant surprise I saw a nice mix of young people and experienced folks; and it warms my heart that a lot of people don’t only think about money. Job creation is nice, but change must be carefully planned with feedback from the citizens. It should never come down from the top. I’m curious to see what will happen with this proposal of rezoning but I really hope the democratic system still works here. Sorry I deviate from my main topic, but it’s important to note that communities consist of people, not empty summer houses.

It’s hard not to notice the news talking about the high level of inflation these days. In order to curb the inflation banks will be unveiling more interest rate hikes and effectively shrinking their monetary policy. A valid question is, how will it impact real estate in Canada?

What we are seeing today is a highly distorted curve of demand vs supply in the market. I think the higher interest rates will force prices down, but because the demand is still very high, I don’t think prices will decline significantly and probably only in some areas.

In addition to interest rate increases the government has proposed a freeze on foreign buyers. The government thinks that banning foreign ownership for 2 years will make an impact on affordability. I highly doubt that since foreign buyers consist of only about 3% across the country. No details have been revealed yet but as soon as I will know, I wish share. 

Another controversial measure proposed by the government to cool down the market is the introduction of a “cooling off period”. Similar tool exists in a pre-build market where a buyer who buys a condo that hasn’t been built yet can rescind their offer within few days after signing the contract. Unfortunately, this proposed measure would be favoring the buyers and possibly punishing the sellers. No details have been revealed by the government yet, but I will keep you posted.

One more proposal made by the government is to create a multiple offer registry, where all offers that the seller received would be registered. I think this is a great idea to gain more transparency and trust in the system. Similar system already exists in Toronto and seems to work well. Currently there’s no details about this yet but I hope it will be rolled out soon.

 Couple interesting statistics that also have an impact on real estate prices:

- more than 100,000 people moved to BC in 2021 (most since 1961)

- In BC between the years 2010-2015 we had an average of 40,000-50,000 active listings consistently every year. Since 2016 something happened and the number of available homes for sale has been considerably falling. In 2022 we are on track for about only 15,000 active listings for the year. A healthy balanced market is roughly 40,000 active listings.
We have been under a very low supply of inventory for many years and if you would like to get some hints of the core issue you could google questions like: “When was Justin Trudeau elected? What is Justin Trudeau’s immigration policy?” to get some interesting answers.

In summary, the sky is NOT falling. Prices in our area are still affordable for people coming from the city. Things will probably slow down, and we may not see as many multiple offers. Properties will take longer to sell, and prices will level off. Only time will tell.

Are you thinking of selling your home? Call me for a free home evaluation.

Roman Krzaczek REALTOR ®

Home number: 250-285-2141

Quadrarealty.ca

March in Real Estate

Spring is in the air and the nature is waking up from its wintery rest and hibernation (including myself!). Last few weeks have been quite busy for me therefore there was no time to contribute with an article in the last Discovery newsletter. In this edition however, I would like to share March statistics with you.

Campbell River

Inventory in the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) area is slowly inching up but is still far from ideal.

In Campbell River, the benchmark price of a single-family home hit $722,400 in March, up by 28 per cent from the previous year.
Benchmark Price for an apartment: $363,300.
Benchmark Price for a Townhouse: $537,300.

Quadra Island
Quadra Island in March had 2 new listings, 2 sold (pending), 2 cancelled, and 1 expired listing.If you would like more details including “sold prices” go to my website and sign up and log in for free to members only area that will provide that information www.quadrarealty.ca
Cortes Island
March on Cortes Island had 1 new listing listed at $775,000 and 3 pending.If you would like more details including “sold prices” go to my website and sign up and log in for free to members only area that will provide that information www.quadrarealty.ca

Calgary
For the second month in a row, sales activity not only reached a monthly high but also hit new record highs for any given month. Gains occurred across every property type as they all hit new record highs.
“While supply levels have improved from levels seen over the past four months, inventory levels are still well below what we traditionally see in March, thanks to stronger than expected sales activity,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “With just over one month of supply in the market, the persistently tight market conditions continue to place significant upward pressure on prices.”

The benchmark price of detached homes in the city of Calgary hit $620,500; semi-detached: $478,400; row home: $335,400; apartments: $265,900.

Vancouver
“Market remained elevated in March."

“March of 2021 was the highest selling month in our history. This year’s activity, while still elevated, is happening at a calmer pace than we experienced 12 months ago,” Daniel John, REBGV Chair said. “Home buyers are keeping a close eye on rising interest rates, hoping to make a move before their locked-in rates expire.”

The benchmark price for a detached home is $2,118,600. This represents a 23.4 per cent increase from March 2021.
The benchmark price of an apartment home is $835,500. This represents a 16.8 per cent increase from March 2021. The benchmark price of an attached home is $1,138,300. This represents a 28.1 per cent increase from March 2021.

Toronto
There were almost 11,000 Greater Toronto Area (GTA) home sales reported in March 2022, capping off the third-best March and second-best first quarter on record. Tight market conditions continued to support a double-digit annual pace of price growth, with an average selling price of $1.3 million. The average selling price dipped slightly month-over-month, bucking the regular seasonal trend

However, we did experience more balance in the first quarter of 2022 compared to last year. If this trend continues, it is possible that the pace of price growth could moderate as we move through the year,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer. 

The average price for a detached home in area (416) is $1,920,018.
The average price of a semi-detached home (416) is $1,545,447.
The average price of a townhouse (416) is $1,117,469.
The average price of a condo (416) is $831,351 as reported by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TREBB).
Today we are facing the most serious housing crisis ever, in this country. Yet, we continue to keep faith that our government will come and save us, even though the government has created these problems in the first place. Have you seen the latest government proposals to “help” with the housing market? I may address those in my next article. As for now…. I’m once again excited about this new gardening season.
One thing I have learned last year, the hard way, is planting seeds too early.  The wait is hard, but in another week or so we should be good to go, my fellow gardeners. Thank you to all the gardeners for sharing valuable information with the community. I have lots to learn.

Are you thinking of selling your home? Call me for a free home evaluation.

Roman Krzaczek REALTOR ®
Home number: 250-285-2141
Quadrarealty.ca

January in Real Estate 

January came and went and I can’t wait to start gardening already. Here is a brief summary that I pulled from Real Estate Boards across the country. They are direct quotes from reports that are available to the public. 

Campbell River

“The new year brought a small inventory bump, but demand is still far outpacing supply in the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) area.

In its recent Market Intelligence Report, the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) states that with markets so out-of-balance, it will take a substantial decline in demand to return active listings to a healthy state. Further, the Bank of Canada is signalling that it will begin raising its policy rate or “tightening” monetary policy this year in response to elevated Canadian inflation.

Historically, the Bank of Canada’s tightening has led to falling home sales and flattening home prices. BCREA’s model simulations show that the most likely outcome of this round of Bank of Canada tightening will be home sales falling to near their historical averages and for home price growth too moderate. However, any tightening is unlikely to result in significant price decreases because of severely low supply.”

Benchmark Price for a detached home in Campbell River in December reached: $682,800.

Benchmark Price for an apartment: $334,900.

Benchmark Price for a Townhouse: $515,100.

Quadra Island
Quadra Island in January had 2 new listings, 1 sold (pending) and 1 expired.

If you would like more details including “sold prices” go to my website and sign up and log in for free to members only area that will provide that information www.quadrarealty.ca

Cortes Island

January on Cortes Island had 2 new listings.

If you would like more details including “sold prices” go to my website and sign up and log in for free to members only area that will provide that information www.quadrarealty.ca

Calgary

“Thanks to persistently strong sales, inventory levels in the city eased to 2,620 units, the lowest levels seen since 2006. This caused the months of supply to remain exceptionally low for this time of year at 1.3 months.”

The benchmark price of detached homes in the city of Calgary hit $559,800; semi-detached: $439,900; row home: $305,600; apartments $251,200.

Vancouver

“The first month of 2022 saw home sales come down from last year’s record-setting pace, while low supply continued to cause home prices to edge higher across Metro Vancouver*.

“Our listing inventory on MLS® is less than half of what would be optimal to begin the year. As a result, hopeful home buyers have limited choice in the market today. This trend is causing fierce competition for a scarce number of homes for sale, which, in turn, increases prices,” Keith Stewart, REBGV economist said.” 

The benchmark price for a detached home is $1,953,000. This represents a 22.7 per cent increase from January 2021.

The benchmark price of an apartment home is $775,700. This represents a 14 per cent increase from January 2021.

The benchmark price of an attached home is $1,029,500. This represents a 24.3 per cent increase from January 2021. 

Toronto

“Demand for ownership housing remained very strong from a historic perspective in January 2022. At the same time, listings remained in short supply, resulting in tight market conditions and very strong year-over-year price growth.”

The average price for a detached home in area (416) is $1,886,413.

The average price of a semi-detached home (416) is 1,471,535.

The average price of a townhouse (416) is $1,080,284.

The average price of a condo (416) is $760,643 as reported by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TREBB). 

This year started off with the same issues as last. Not enough inventory across the country. Very strong seller’s markets all across Canada. 

I have been trying very hard not getting too political in my real estate column but what’s happening in my beloved country of Canada is very alarming and concerning. It’s hard to decipher what is the truth anymore. All I know is that we are more divided than ever. It’s hurting families and communities.

Mainstream media have done a very poor job at covering what is really going on, but my biggest concern is how our politicians have decided to respond. Invoking the Emergency Measures Act on a small peaceful fridge group seems like something that would be done in a country that doesn’t believe in a democratic system. I urge you to read more about it, but from several opposing sources. Think for yourself, don’t just repeat what they tell us.  This is important for the future of Canada. How can we invoke kindness, unity and compassion, instead of hate?

Are you thinking of selling your home? Call me for a free home evaluation.

Roman Krzaczek REALTOR ®

Home number: 250-285-2141

Quadrarealty.ca

Radon (Rn) 101 – Understanding it within the Canadian Housing Context

Recently as part of Professional Development Course I took an interesting course and I would like to share with the readers of the Discovery Islander what I learned.

The course was put together by “Evict Radon” which is a volunteer-led Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to solving Canada’s large and allegedly worsening radon-gas exposure problem.

Why should you care about this?

Exposure to Radon may cause serious health issues including lung cancer.

The reason why it’s relevant to Real Estate is that Radon is a health concern and could be seen as a “latent defects” in a real estate transaction. Latent defects are hidden, unknown defects that are not generally discoverable by a prospective purchaser or a reasonable inspection.

In all of my years in the industry I have never seen a deal fall apart due to Radon reading. In fact, I have never even seen a Radon reading disclosed in the Property Disclosure Statement but I suspect that this trend of “healthy homes” will continue to push new ways of red tape. In my opinion, if it’s actually based on science and not on special interest groups and it will make us healthier than I think it’s worth looking into.

What is Radon?

“Radon is a tasteless, odourless and invisible radioactive gas that results from decaying uranium, and is a leading cause of lung cancer.

Radon filters up from the ground and into the air. It can enter buildings through openings where the buildings contact the ground. In the outdoors, radon is diluted to low levels. Inside buildings, however, radon can build up too harmful, concentrated levels. Breathing increased levels of radon increases a person’s chance of developing lung cancer. In fact, Radon is linked to 16% of lung cancer deaths. It is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, and the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking.”

Who is at risk?
Everyone is at risk for radon inhalation, and any building that has contact with the ground has the potential to have high radon levels, including houses, apartments, schools, daycares, warehouses and commercial spaces.”

“Evict radon” is asking for participation with their research by testing your home and sending it back to them.

Participation in this research based study can help in better understanding what type of property produces a high or low radon environment and why. It will help in identifying who in society are the most at risk and also help in determining meaningful changes to policy and building codes in the future.

I am naturally sceptical when someone says “this is for your own health” because it usually means it will cost me something. However, I am open minded and passionate about learning so I purchased the test to see what it says about my home. The test cost me $53.99 plus shipping and taxes, total of $78.71.

The way to conduct the test is to place the little plastic device (the radon test) in the lowest level in your home that you spend about 4 or more hours a day. This could be your basement or the main floor. Do not place the radon test in well ventilated spaces such as kitchen, bathroom or areas with open windows or excessive airflow. Do not place them on the floor. The purpose of these tests is to give the research group a more accurate measurement of air quality. Typically, a location on the bedside table is a great place for the test. The test needs to stay in the same location for minimum of 90 days or longer.

If you would like to participate in this study go to the websites provided below. Both of the websites provide abundance of information about Radon, about the test and also mitigation process.

I think it’s a great resource for those of you that are curious or just health conscious. 

The website https://c-nrpp.ca/testing-for-radon/

The website to purchase the home test is here: https://evictradon.org/about/

Are you thinking of selling your home? Call me for a free home evaluation.

Roman Krzaczek REALTOR ®

Home number: 250-285-2141

Quadrarealty.ca